Cooler cabinet



Patented Nov. 3, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE COOLER CABINET Henry R. Loosley and Wendell 0. Lowry East St. Louis, 111.

Application February 23, 1935, Serial No. 7,716

3 Claims.

position for ready inspection and removal.

The invention has among its objects the provision of means which will accomplish said desired ends and will be simple in design and construction, sturdy so as to withstand the relatively rough treatment to which the cabinet may be subjected While in service and especially while in places exposed to the elements, and which will be satisfactory and efficient for use wherever deemed applicable.

Another object of our invention is to sogroup the various elements of the device so as to occupy a minimum of space and arranged to fit in well with the other equipment of the establishment using the same.

A still further object of our invention is to provide a pneumatically operated means for simultaneously lifting the cooled bottles to adjacent the closure of the cabinet and moving said closure to its open position to provide access to said bottles so moved.

An added object of the invention is to so proportion the actuating forces operating said closure and bottle-lifting means that both ends of the same will be actuated with the same amount of force, to thereby insure even and steady movement of said parts without any joggling, jiggling or sticking, and to provide means for limiting the amount of pressure acting on said moving parts.

Another added feature of the invention is the provision of means to limit the movement of the foot treadle for simultaneously opening the closure of the cabinet and lifting the bottle-holding tray, in both directions of travel of the treadle, to prevent the latter from striking the ground when depressed or from being too high for convenient touch when in normal inoperative position.

in given.

To this end, our invention consists in the novel construction, arrangement, and combination of parts herein shown and described and more par ticularly pointed out in the claims.

In the drawing, wherein like reference characters indicate like or corresponding parts throughout the views,

Figure 1 is a front elevation of the device, with parts broken away to show the construction more clearly;

Figure 2 is a vertical cross-section view of the same, taken substantially along the line 2-2 of 5 Fig. 1;

Figure 3 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view, taken substantially along the line 3-3 of Fig. 1;

and.

Figure 4 is a horizontal cross-sectional view, 10 taken substantially along the line 4-4 of Fig. 2.

Referring more particularly to the drawing,

wherein I have ilustrated a preferred embodiment of our invention, there is a cooler cabinet shown, especially adapted for use for the storage 15 of bottled liquids, such as soda, beer, ales and any other sort of beverages, etc., wherein they may be cooled until ready for removal and serving, said cabinet being of any suitable size, shape and material found most suitable for the purpose and provided with a housing or casing A, which may be mounted on supporting legs I, provided with rollers or casters 2, to lift said housing sufficiently above the floor and to permit of simple and ready movement of the cabinet structure as a whole. Cross braces'3 may connect the front and rear legs together.

Any suitable cooling medium may be used for cooling the interior of this casing, as for example the liquid 4 cooled by some preferred means, 30 such as the refrigerant coils 5 connected to a power-driven system 6 located either unitary with the cabinet, as shown, or placed at some distant point.

Located within the casing is the bottle-hold- 35 ing tray or platform 1, preferably provided with compartments for spacing the bottles apart thereon, and having the pair of ends 8-8 each provided with an upwardly extending groove or guideway 9 therealong, to receive a correspond- 4:0 ing shaped channel it] therein, the latter projecting upwardly from the bottom of the casing. The tray may be provided with apertures II at suitable intervals to permit water to enter said compartments from the cabinet and to readily drain therefrom upon lifting movement of the tray.

A slidable cover or closure plate I2 is arranged at the top of the casing, movable horizontally to open and close the cabinet as needed, and is 0 moved in unison with the vertical movement of the tray, as will now be set forth.

Uprights l3 extend through openings at either end of the housing so as to be rather loosely received within the channels H], which are in turn received within the grooves 9, the upper ends of said uprights either merely abutting the upper ends of the grooves or being secured together with fastening means, such as set screws if required. Then, as the uprights l3 are actuated upwardly through the openings in the floor of the casing, they will lift the tray upwardly, and as the tray lowers the uprights will move downwardly therewith.

Links are connected to either end of the closure plate l2 to link the movement of the latter to that of the tray, through a link I 4 pivotally connected at one end to the end of the tray and having its other end pivotally connected to a second link l5, the last-mentioned link having its other end connected to the plate l2. A third link l6 has one end pivotally connected to a fixed element, such as the casing, and has its other end pivotally connected to the link I4, between the ends of the latter. Rails or ledges l1 form a horizontal guide and support for the plate I2 to slidably receive the same. Obviously, as the elements l3 move vertically, actuating the tray similarly, the plate I2 will be horizontally actuated simultaneously therewith through the linkage l4l5l6.

A storage receptacle I8 is located at some suitable point, as for example immediately beneath the casing of the cabinet, the same being supplied with the pneumatic fluid by a conduit is communicating with a compressor unit 28, the latter being supplied with the usual means for shutting off pumping when the desired predetermined pressure has been built up in the tank.

Each of the upright elements 13 is connected to a piston 2| operating with a cylinder 22 fixed to the framework 3 of the unit, each cylinder being connected to the tank by conduits of equal capacity, such as the pair of pipes 23-23 of equal length and bore, the latter communicating with the pipe 24 common to both and leading to the tank IS. A regulator valve 25 may be arranged in the pipe 24 adjacent the pipes 23 23 so that the pressure admitted through the latter pair of pipes will not exceed a predetermined maximum, but Will be sufficient to insure proper operation of the actuating mechanism.

An operating valve 26 may be connected to the pipe 24 at some point between the valve 25 and the tank to control the passage of the fluid from said tank into said pair of pipes 23--23, said valve 26 being operated in any preferable manner, such as by the handle 21. A link 23 has one end connected to a fixed element and the other end loosely connected to the valve handle 21, and a second link 29 has one end connected pivotally intermediate the ends of the link 28 and the other end pivotally connected to a third link 30 fixed to a treadle 3! extending across the front of the cabinet adjacent the bottom ends of the legs I so as to be extremely convenient for foot operation.

In order tolimit the movement of the foot treadle within certain predetermined limits of travel, the treadle carries an element 32 having a loose fit at its far end with an element 33 fixed to the casing. Thus, when the pin carried by the element 32 abuts against the lower end of the slot in the element 33 the treadle can not be pushed further downwardly, this limit of movement being of course reached before the treadle contacts with the ground. The opposite limit of travel of the treadle is such as to bring the latter to rest for normal position at the most appropriate height of treadle for easy and convenient operation by the foot. Springs 34, connected at one end to a fixed point on the cabinet, and at their other ends to a bar 35 pivoted at one end to the legs I and at their other end to the treadle or the elements 30, retrieve the parts to their normal positions when the pressure of the foot is released from the treadle.

From the foregoing description it is obvious that when the foot is pressed downwardly on the treadle the valve 26 will admit the operating fluid from the tank in equal amounts and equal pressures to the pair of cylinders, to thus evenly lift the pistons at either end of the tray, actuating said tray and closure plate in a similarly even and steady movement so as not to bind or hinder the movement of said parts and insure efficient operation at all times, leaving the hands free for the required handling of the bottles in the trays. As soon as the foot is released from the treadle, the springs retrieve the tray to its lowered position and closes the plate [2.

What we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a bottle-dispensing cabinet having a vertically movable tray for holding the bottles thereon and a horizontally movable closure plate therefor, a channel extending upwardly through the bottom of said housing, a second channel in the sides of said tray and receiving said first channel to guide the latter, foot-controlled means for lifting said tray, upright elements at the sides of said tray connected to said foot-controlled means and movable through the bottom of said housing within said first-mentioned channel and having their upper ends operatively connected to said tray to move therewith, and links connecting said tray and closure plate to actuate the latter through movement of the former.

2. In combination with a housing having a vertically movable tray therein and a horizontally movable closure plate thereacross above said tray, a stationary member extending upwardly through the bottom of said housing, a guide member at the sides of said tray and movable therewith and receiving said upwardly extending stationary member, upright elements at the sides of said tray and movable through the bottom of the housing within said stationary memher and having their upper ends operably connected to said tray to move therewith, foot-controlled means connected to said upright elements, and links connecting said tray and closure plate to actuate the latter through movement of the former.

3. In a bottle dispensing cabinet having a vertically movable bottle tray and a horizontally movable closure plate thereabove, means for operating said tray and plate in unison and comprising iinks connecting said tray and plate to transmit movement therebetween, vertically movable elements engaging and actuating said tray, a foot treadle, pneumatic means for actuating said vertically movable elements, links operably con nected between said treadle and pneumatic means, and means movable with said treadle in both directions of movement of the latter to limit both movements of the treadle.

HENRY R. LOOSLEY. WENDELL O. LOWRY. 

